Beijing

My apologies for the especially long post and for the delay in posting it.  It turns out that the Chinese government is not overly keen on granting access to sites such as Facebook, Youtube, Skype, or Blogspot within China.   

On Thursday the 26th, we flew to Beijing.  This left only a few hours to see some attractions.  The Forbidden City was my first and only stop.  Emerging from the metro station onto Tian ‘Anmen Square which faces the Forbidden City is breathtaking, not only for the crush of tourists, but also for the grand scale of the area. 

The Forbidden City contains 800 buildings with over 9,000 rooms and is the largest palace complex in the world.  While stone was used in the walls and floors of the buildings, the majority are constructed primarily of wood.   The complex contains buildings with names such as the Hall of Terrestrial Tranquility, the Hall of Celestial Purity and the Hall of Supreme Harmony each of which had a specific function. 

Two hours inside the complex were barely enough to walk from one end to the other, let along examine the avenues, palaces and courtyards on either side of the central complex.  

A very determined cell phone user who stepped into my shot.

For me, one of the most interesting sites was the Imperial Garden at the far end of the complex.  The space is landscaped with ancient trees, minor pavilions and exotic stone work. 

The visit was only marred by the difficulty in finding my way back to the hotel in the pouring rain.  Taxis tend to disappear whenever it rains, or if they are around, the prices go up … a lot.    

On the 27th I took a group tour of the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall.  Our group consisted of 1 American, 1 Ecuadorian, 1 Chinese, 2 Indians, 2 Argentines and 3 Germans.  For Beijing, I think the weather was almost perfect and most of the day we could even make out a light blue color in the sky.

First stop, the Ming Tombs, which are the burial grounds to 13 out of the 16 Ming Emperors.  Apparently, some of the most important tombs (which by themselves appear to be big hills of dirt) remain unexcavated because of the fear of damaging the invaluable items which are thought to be inside.  (I couldn’t get an idea from our guide why this was so different than any other of the thousands of historic tombs in the world that are routinely excavated.) 

The grounds are divided by a wooden gate that represents  the border between this world and the next.  Tourist etiquette requires that you shout something that sounds like “ Ohwa Hue Lai Lu!”, which means “We are back!” as you pass through the gate into the here-and-now just to be certain that your soul follows you out.  

Next we toured a jade factory.  These shopping stops are mandatory on every organized tour.  While the craftsmanship was splendid, dodging the persistent sales associates, was not.  Thank goodness for the Indians in our group who actually bought some items, otherwise, we might still be waiting for our tour bus to come and get us.

Tours of the Great Wall from Beijing take you to several major portions of the Wall.  Guide books and on-line references are divided as to what constitutes the “best” portion of the Wall to visit.  Our tour went to the Badaling portion and it was phenomenal! 

When you surface onto the Wall, you can either follow it to the left or to the right … go left.  I did both, and  while the right side looks most impressive as it winds over the hills into the distance, you can’t see it as effectively while you’re climbing because you're on top of it.  On the left side, however, you have an unfolding view (at least when you turn around) of the more dramatic right side.  

The right side was also distractingly crowded and steeper, although on both sides the inclines are surprising steep (at one point, I saw people crawling up the stairs on all fours).   As you wander around on top of the wall you are stuck by the massive undertaking the Great Wall represents.  Everyone seemed intent on storing as much of the experience as our cameras would allow.

That evening we wandered around one of the quaint Hutong districts.  These old streets are narrow and winding and give you a feel for what it might have been like to live in Beijing many years ago.  Unfortunately, many are being razed to make room for new development at the expense of the city's character. 

We also managed to come across a pedestrian street full of vendors selling kabobbed horrors of every kind  which were deep fat fried to order.  Sadly, no Twinkies or funnel cakes, just sea urchins, star fish, squid, sheep testicles, hearts, kidneys, grass hoppers, silk worm larva, scorpions (both dead and alive), crickets and a few other unrecognizable items.  (Unfortunately, no camera.)  I didn’t see almost anyone eating this fare, except for a couple of brave tourists from the United States, including two guys on a BYU study abroad stint.  For dinner, we had Peking Duck, a vast improvement over the other choices.

Saturday, the 28th started with a trip to the Bell Tower and to the Drum Tower.   The Bell Tower  (seen in the distance) ... 

contains a massive cast bronze bell weighing approximately 63 tons. 

Simon and me.

According to legend, the Emperor grew tired of waiting for the bell to be cast.  The blacksmiths had been unsuccessful after many attempts and unless they remedied the situation, they were soon to be put to death.  Fortunately, the daughter of one of the blacksmiths appeased the gods by throwing herself into the molten copper, allowing the bell to be cast.  Hooray! 

Both towers were instrumental in determining time in ancient Beijing.  The Drum Tower originally contained 25 large drums (the largest of which is still in existence, although severely deteriorated) and today contains replicas of each. 

It also contains replicas of both a mechanical clock which allowed metal balls to roll down a track at a set speed, 3,600 per 24 hours, and a clepsydra (as the smart Chinese translator called it) or water clock which measured time by regulating the flow of water through several small openings.

Next we went to the Temple of Heaven  which is located on beautiful park land in central Beijing.  The park is a place with Beijingers meet to socialize and enjoy the weather.  Among other activities are the spontaneous dance parties which seem to draw from all age groups.  It’s a pleasant custom, one which we saw on several occasions.  

The Temple of Heaven was used as a place to make sacrifices to heaven and to pray for good harvests.  The site is drenched in religious significance and ceremony.  For most tourists, however,  the Temple is notable because it is both gorgeously designed, colorfully painted and well-preserved. 

Our last day in Beijing took us to the Summer Palace, the summer home to some of the Ming emperors.  I could imagine that under ideal circumstances, the site would be beautiful.  Unfortunately, the smog was so bad that even the closest items appeared fuzzy and virtually colorless.  Nevertheless, here are a few of the scenes.

 

This roof decoration reminded me of a Chinese Santa being followed by a train of misfit animal toys. 

Beijing was a great city to visit, but I think that living there would be a challenge. It's crowded and hectic and the air quality seemed exceptionally poor.  A momentary visitor (especially a non-Chinese speaker) would be hard pressed to discover many of its charms without guidance.  Thanks Simon for helping me uncover some of them.